Fort Smith police warn of scam targeting elderly FORT SMITH (AP) — Fort Smith police are investigating three incidents in which elderly residents were taken in by alleged false promises from a man claiming to be a roofer. Police said Tuesday that in each instance, elderly homeowners were approached by a man and told that a warranty inspection was needed on the roof of their home. Police say the man convinced the homeowners that they had to pay to repair leaks around vents on the roof, which ...

Police: Man kills 3, then himself in north Phoenix PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix neighborhood became a chilling crime scene when a man killed his wife, their teenage daughter and another family member and set fire to his spouse’s body in the backyard, police said. He then killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Michael Sanders, 53, had been showing signs of angry and erratic behavior in recent months as he and his wife Carol were going through a divorce. It apparently escalated Tuesday ...

Man leads police on traffic, foot chaseA man is in custody after he led law enforcement on a pursuit from Russellville to Atkins. The pursuit began around 10:53 p.m. Sunday near East Third Street and South Erie Avenue. Russellville Police Officer Justin Conway witnessed suspicious activity in the area. When he tried to investigate the suspicious activity further, a pursuit ensued. The officer witnessed several traffic violations and one accident while the vehicle tried to elude him...

Dardanelle man arrested for his felonies in OhioDANVILLE — Sheriff Bill Gilkey announced that Yell County Sheriff’s Deputies took a Dardanelle man, Shawn E. Hunt, 39, into custody Thursday morning at his residence on charges from the state of Ohio after being contacted by investigators there. Ohio investigators forwarded copies of a warrant of arrest for Hunt on charges which included three counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery, voyeurism, and two counts of illegal use of a minor i...

Bond hearings (Nov. 9, 2013)The following individuals appeared in felony bond hearings Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Dec. 2 in Circuit Court. * Mark Rickett, 52, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (methamphetamine) — $250,000. Rickett, who said he is from Kansas, was arrested after an Arkansas State Police trooper pulled him over. The of...

Logan County jail escape caught in Booneville PARIS (AP) — Logan County Sheriff Steve Smith says an inmate who escaped the county jail has been recaptured in Booneville. Smith told the Times Record that Gary Patrick Topham, 49, of Magazine was caught about 10 a.m. Thursday by authorities investigating reports that he was seen on a street in Booneville. Authorities have said Topham escaped shortly after noon Monday by climbing a chain-link fence that’s topped with razor wire. Topham was be...

Lottery ex-official gets 37-month sentenceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former Arkansas lottery security official to three years and a month in prison for stealing and cashing almost a half million dollars’ worth of scratch-off tickets. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright also ordered former deputy security director Remmele Mazyck to pay more than $482,000 in restitution. In court in Little Rock, Mazyck apologized for his actions after his mother asked...

Prosecutor to review accidental shootingInformation from a Saturday incident in which police stated a man was accidentally shot by his child in the Walmart parking lot has been turned over to the prosecuting attorney. Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said the report has not yet been reviewed by his office. The typical process when reports are submitted to his office is for either himself or a deputy prosecutor to review the file and determine if there is en...

Bond Hearings (Nov. 7, 2013)The following individuals appeared in felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. They will appear Dec. 2 in Circuit Court. • Matthew Peacock, 22, robbery and forgery — $10,000. Charges were filed against Peacock on Oct. 16 related to two separate instances. On June 15, a woman stated she was in the parking lot of a grocery store, putting her merchandis...

AG announces human trafficking task forceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that he has established a statewide task force aimed at preventing human trafficking. McDaniel announced the creation of the task force during a news conference in Little Rock, where he stood alongside some of the state lawmakers who have sponsored legislation to help Arkansas combat human trafficking. The State Task Force for the Prevention of Human Trafficking is mad...

Fort Smith man pleads guilty to killing his aunt FORT SMITH (AP) — A Fort Smith man has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of his aunt and been sentenced to 40 years in prison. The Times Record reported 19-year-old Dustin Trowbridge entered the plea Wednesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court and was sentenced for the February death of 25-year-old Rita Jackalynne Anderson. Trowbridge entered the plea as part of a deal in which the charge was reduced from first-degree murder and a theft cha...

4 busted in alleged ATV theft ringAMITY (AP) — Authorities in southwestern Arkansas say they have broken up an alleged all-terrain vehicle theft ring. Police say five ATVs stolen in Howard County were recovered, as well as an assortment of parts, wheels and tires. Howard County Sheriff Butch Morris says a man whose ATV was stolen saw someone riding it Saturday at the Hillarosa Mud Bog in Hempstead County. The sheriff said the man tried to take back the vehicle but the rider le...

No arrest made in RMS threatsNo arrests were made as of Tuesday in connection with online threats of gun violence and bombs at Russellville Middle School (RMS). Over the weekend, someone using the name Rms Gosip Girl, on the social media site ask.fm, allegedly threatened several RMS students with gun violence. A parent notified the district of the threats causing them to increase security at the school. Some of Rms Gosip Girl’s posts over the weekend included: “u still do...

NJ mall shooting baffles relatives of gunman TEANECK, N.J. (AP) — Relatives and friends of a young man who fired shots in New Jersey’s largest mall, trapping terrified shoppers for hours before killing himself, struggled Tuesday to reconcile those actions with a person they described as pleasant and well-liked. Investigators don’t believe the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Richard Shoop, intended to shoot anyone when he began firing at the ceiling and elsewhere at the Garden State Pla...

In boyfriend’s death, defense wants statements out CONWAY (AP) — Lawyers for a woman charged in Faulkner County in the death of her boyfriend want a judge to bar statements she made to police from being repeated before a jury. The defense argued in a written motion that Jamie Lynn Leach of Quitman was coerced into speaking to an investigator after the Aug. 20, 2012, slaying. The Log Cabin Democrat reported Leach was arrested later the same day. He is charged with first-degree murder in the dea...

Bond set for rape, porn suspectA Russellville man was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bond on Monday on suspicion of two counts of rape and possession of child pornography. Nathan Hampton, 39, was arrested Saturday after police responded to a call from a man claiming Hampton “had done something inappropriate to his children and he was going to do something about it,” according to a police report. Officers made contact with the man and the mother of the alleged victims, bot...

On the beat (Nov. 3, 2013)Oct. 30 — Stop sign violation on West Parkway Drive. An officer noticed a vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign on North Joplin Avenue while turning onto Parkway Drive. The officer initiated a traffic stop and was informed by the female driver that her driver’s license was suspended for DWI. The officer informed the suspect she was under arrest, and she became argumentative. She began begging the officer not to arrest her because she had to pick...